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Conjunctions is a biannual American literary journal publishing innovative fiction, poetry, criticism, drama, art and interviews by both emerging and established writers.

The twice-a-year publication is unusually thick, often with about 400 pages per issue.^[1]

Conjunctions' in its print format and on its Web site has provided a forum for nearly 1,000 writers and artists "whose work challenges accepted forms and modes of expression, experiments with language and thought, and is fully realized art", according to the "Letter From the Editor" on its Web site. It aims to maintain consistently high editorial and production quality with the intention of attracting a large and varied audience. The project is meant to present wide variety of individual voices.^[2]

Conjunctions' editorial approach is often collaborative. Both the editor and the distinguished staff of active contributing editors — Walter Abish, Chinua Achebe, John Ashbery, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Mary Caponegro, Robert Creeley, Elizabeth Frank, William H. Gass, Peter Gizzi, Jorie Graham, Robert Kelly, Ann Lauterbach, Norman Manea, Rick Moody, Joanna Scott, Peter Straub, William Weaver and John Edgar Wideman — rely on the advice of fellow writers across the country. Final selection of the material is made by the editor.^[2]

Conjunctions is published by Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York since 1990.^[3]

Bradford Morrow founded the magazine

"Conjunctions got its start one afternoon in late 1980 as [founding editor Bradford] Morrow sat in Beat poet Kenneth Rexroth's library in Santa Barbara, California. The two friends had the idea to assemble a Festschrift for James Laughlin, the beloved editor of New Directions.^[1] The first issue, published in December 1981.^[3]

Some of the poets from whom Morrow solicited work, including Robert Duncan, promised to send work for future issues of the magazine, so Conjunctions continued on." ^[3]

Morrow financed the first few issues "on a string and a prayer", but his friends and colleagues soon started helping.^[1] The magazine was originally published by David R. Godine in Boston, then by Collier Macmillan, a now-defunct imprint of Scribner before Bard College took it over in 1990.^[3]

1. ^ ^{a b c} [1] Larimer, Kevin, "The Functions of Conjunctions" article in Poets & Writers Web site, "News & Trends" section, undated but around October 2001, according to the article, accessed December 14, 2006
2. ^ ^{a b} [2]Web page titled "Letter From the Editor" at the Conjunctions Web site, accessed December 14, 2006
3. ^ ^{a b c d} [3] "Brown University hosts three-day festival to celebrate Connunctions Anniversary", short news article at Poets & Writers Web site, dated October 5, 2006, accessed December 14, 2006

• [4] Web Conjunctions